Undone
by idjit with a blue box
Summary: When a strange girl literally drops into his life, young Raistlin Majere worries the effect she will have on his sanity. He doesn't even have a clue as to what effect she will have on his future...
1. Accidental Meeting

**Author's Notes: **First crack at a romance story and what better platform than my favorite book series and one of the most interesting characters I've ever read?!

Basically, a _Soulforge_ AU

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonlance or any of its characters- Klea is mine though

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><p><span>13<span>th Winter

Snow drifted gently down through the trees into the small clearing. It had been heavier during the night, forming a thick blanket over top of the fallen tree trunk in the center, which had a while ago been dragged to its current position in the clearing by young, soft hands. Those hands had gotten no end of splinters from dragging it, but the excellent seat it provided had been worth Weird Meggin's digging about in his hands for them.

Raistlin smirked at the impression his feet left in the snow, marring the perfect covering of the ground. He was leaving his mark, proclaiming his presence long after he left this clearing until either the snow filled it back in or melted away completely. Not that there was anyone there to notice his presence.

Although, that was kind of the point. This was his hideout from the stupid boys who thought that snowball fights were such fun- as if being soaked to the skin in freezing weather held any appeal. This was Raistlin's solace from the boys, his classmates, who called him the Sly One and either taunted or completely ignored him. In all honesty, the latter was worse. Even though teasing and violence was negative, it was still attention. It showed the children considered him enough to take time out of their day to interact with him. Their complete dismissal of him on the other hand communicated that he was no longer worth that. He was of no further interest to them, he might as well disappear and no one would care.

Raistlin's smirk turned to a sneer.

He brushed away the snow piled upon the log and took a seat. The wood was wet and Raistlin's nose was already starting to run as he opened up his book. Maybe it wasn't worth it today, to read out here alone. He'd just go back inside, maybe sit with Marm in the kitchen. With a sigh Raistlin closed the book, stood up from his seat hoping the wetness from the snow hadn't seeped into his robes yet, and took a step to return to the school.

CRACK!

Raistlin stumbled in alarm at the sound and slipped to his knees in the snow, jarring his elbow painfully on the tree trunk behind him. His gaze flickering around the clearing for the source of the sound, his eyes widened as they found something that should not have been there.

A girl.

She seemed to be a bit younger than him, maybe ten or so, or maybe she was just small for her age. Snow fell lazily down to get caught in her hair, looking like she had adorned her brown waves with jewels. Her green eyes were just as wide as Raistlin's were as she looked around somewhat fearfully at her surroundings.

"Where in the Abyss am I?" the girl thought out loud, gazing up at the trees and drifting snow. She turned on the spot dazedly and jumped back in shock. Her gaze fixed onto the boy kneeling in the snow staring at her with much the same expression as she had.

"Wh-who are you?" the girl demanded.

Raistlin's brows knit together and his lips tightened into a thin line. Here this girl pops out of thin air into his hideout scaring him half to death and she was demanding to know who _he_ was?! Raistlin scrambled hastily to his feet with a stern expression.

"Who am I? You're the one that just appeared out of nowhere! Who are you? What are you doing here?" he demanded angrily. The girl quirked an eyebrow and put a hand to her hip.

"I'm Klea, and I would answer the other question except that I don't know where I am, you tell me!" the girl named Klea snapped peevishly.

"You don't know where you are?" Raistlin asked contemptuously. This girl was crazy, how did she not know where she was and how did she get here in the first place?

Klea was not in the least intimidated by Raistlin's attitude.

"Well, duh! That's why I'm asking you!" she rolled her eyes.

"You're outside of Solace, in the woods near Master Theobald's school," Raistlin answered, though with a significant amount of sass.

"Solace?!" the girl repeated in alarm. "Are you kidding me? This stupid thing took me halfway across the continent?!" Klea exclaimed ripping a silver ring off her finger and fixing it with an affronted glare before slipping it inside a pocket.

"Wait, what?" Raistlin interjected in confusion. "How did you get here?"

"This stupid ring! I just put it on and 'poof!'" the girl threw up her hands in exasperation. "I wound up here in this stupid little clearing, in the freezing cold, in freaking Abanasinia!" Klea shouted as her arms hastily dropped back down to wrap around herself as she shivered.

It was then that Raistlin noticed the girl was dressed simply in a tunic, breeches, and thin shoes. Suddenly feeling weighed down by his own layers of clothing, he glanced down at his outer cloak.

"Here," he grumbled, unclasping his cloak from around his shoulders and holding it out to Klea. "Take my cloak before you freeze to death."

Klea stared suspiciously at the proffered cloak and then up at Raistlin. Raistlin's brows furrowed and he shook the cloak.

"Well? Are you gonna take it?" he demanded, a bit sharper than he had intended. Klea pursed her lips.

"Taking a strange item was what got me here in the first place," she retorted.

"It's not a strange item! It's my cloak!" Raistlin replied in exasperation.

"Well, you've refused to tell me who you are! So you are a stranger, and thus anything you have to offer is a strange item," Klea stated logically. Raistlin rolled his eyes. He had just met this girl and she was already grating on his nerves.

"I'm Raistlin, now, will you please take the stupid cloak?" he snapped. Klea glared at him but snatched up the cloak and tossed it around her shoulders.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"You're welcome," Raistlin sighed. He continued to watch her speculatively as she fumbled with the clasp and then wrapped her hands in the fabric and pulled it tighter about herself. "How did you get here?" he asked curiously.

"I told you, this silver ring," she grumbled, glancing up at him suspiciously. "What kind of school are we near?"

"A school for magic," Raistlin answered unhesitatingly. "Where did you get this silver ring?"

"From a mage. Are you a student at this school?" Klea returned just as quickly.

"I am. How did you get a magic ring from a mage? Did you steal it?"

"No! I didn't steal it!" Klea shouted reproachfully, but with another thought her brow quirked. "Well... I guess _technically_ I did steal it. But not like, just pickpocketing it from a random mage down the street. I know her! I'm actually, well, her student," Klea clarified shamefacedly. Raistlin couldn't hide his shock as his brows shot to his forehead.

"You took a magical artifact from your master?" he asked incredulously.

"I didn't _take_ it per se. I was just looking at it. She had asked me to straighten up the shop- she owns a mageware shop too, and since I'm her best student," Klea said the last rather proudly, "she has me work in there with her, just to help straighten up, like sweeping and stuff. So, she asked me to put these artifacts on display, and I may have, out of curiosity, just been looking at this one ring, and I sort of, accidentally, put it on, and then the next thing I know I'm here!" Klea explained, dodging around certain facts much like a kender would explain "acquiring" something.

"So you're studying magic, too?" Raistlin asked, suddenly intensely curious about this girl. Although she was irritating, she didn't seem like the bumbling boys that were his classmates, simply at the school because their parents didn't know what to do with them. If he believed her account- which he though himself crazy for actually doing so- then she was skilled in her studies, or at least serious enough about them to put in the effort to get better.

"Yeah, up in Palanthas, which is a long way away from here," she sighed.

"I'm surprised they even have schools of magic up in Solamnia," Raistlin admitted.

"Well, it's not something we go about proclaiming to our neighbors, but it's also not like we have angry villagers coming to burn down the school!" Klea chuckled.

"Much the same as here, then," Raistlin said, though he surprised himself a bit at how openly he was talking with this girl who literally just dropped in a few minutes ago.

He didn't continue the conversation after this realization, and Klea didn't seem to have anything else to say either. The two children glanced at each other awkwardly, before seeing the other do the same and quickly looking elsewhere. Klea shifted in the snow, her shoes getting soaked through and her feet beginning to go numb from the cold. She cleared her throat.

"Well, not that this hasn't been interesting, but I'm beginning to lose feeling in my toes, so I'd best be off," Klea announced.

"Oh, um, how are you going to get back?" Raistlin asked.

"Well, this ring got me here, hopefully if I just put it on again it will get me back," Klea said, digging the ring out of her pocket.

"And if it doesn't?" Raistlin pressed.

"Then I guess I'm gonna start walking!" Klea returned with a grin. "It was nice to meet you, Raistlin."

"Nice to meet you, too," Raistlin returned.

"And thanks for the cloak," Klea added as she slipped the ring onto her finger. Her eyes went wide as she realized his cloak was still around her shoulders, but before she could move she vanished with a 'CRACK!'

Raistlin stood in the snow, staring at the empty spot where Klea had disappeared. Her footprints were still sunk into the snow, but even as he watched they began to fill back up with new-fallen powder. The snow was getting thicker now and a gust of wind set Raistlin shivering with the loss of the added layer. Well, he'd probably never see that cloak again!

By the time Raistlin left the clearing to return to class, the snow had filled the marks left by the strange girl as if she had never even been there.

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><p><span>Spring<span>

Raistlin sat on the fallen tree trunk, bent down over a paper pressed against his knees as he scribbled down letters. He spoke each letter as he wrote it in the language of magic, trying to perfect the pronunciation as well as how to write it. He had learned the correct pronunciation and formation of the letters long ago but he was determined not to ever forget or mess up.

His quill pen punched through the parchment and Raistlin swore. He was still grumbling when a loud 'CRACK!' interrupted him and sent him tumbling off the back side of the tree trunk in alarm. He hit the ground hard and groaned as he heard a faintly familiar voice calling out.

"Raistlin? Are you here?" Klea called out, looking around the small clearing.

Her gaze flitted over the log which was empty, but suddenly turned back to it as she saw white fabric poke out from behind. Klea hastened over to the log and peered over it at the thirteen year-old boy struggling to a sitting position.

"What are you doing down there?" she asked. Raistlin glared up at her.

"I fell," he grumbled, pushing himself up into a sitting position.

"Why'd you do that?" Klea grinned.

"It's not like I meant to! You scared me half to death!" he snapped.

"Oh, well, I was just returning this," Klea said as she dropped a cloak onto his head.

Raistlin fumed as he struggled out of the cloak as Klea just rambled on.

"I was gonna come straight back with the ring after returning to the shop- it did get me back by the way, the ring- but my mistress came in and so I had to put the ring up. And then I wanted to get it cleaned and dried before returning it to you, because I am not one of those rude people that borrows something and then returns it dirty, no—"

"No, just one of those rude people who drops in unannounced," Raistlin grumbled under his breath as he got to his feet. He was lucky Klea didn't hear him or that would've started an argument; one that Raistlin may not have been able to win.

"So, once I got it cleaned, I had to wait for another moment when my mistress left me alone in the shop, which, let me tell you, was not for a _long_ while! I think she may have suspected I messed with something. Anyway! So when I finally got a chance to use the ring again I did and I came back here- but you weren't here! That happened a few other times before finally- Ta da! Here you are!" Klea finished, spreading her hands out towards Raistlin as if displaying something to a crowd.

"Yes, here I am. I appreciate your returning my cloak, but if you could, please-" Klea didn't let him finish.

"Sorry for how late it is, and you probably don't even need it now, you know, since it's warmer and all," she apologized.

"Yes," Raistlin deadpanned, glaring at her. "I was actually in the middle of something, so if you could- wait, give me that!" Raistlin ordered as Klea picked up his ruined parchment.

"You're writing your letters still? We moved on from writing individual letters a while ago and are on writing certain words, I'm surprised you guys are so behind, these are really good though, way better than mine!" Klea said examining his work.

"We have also moved on from writing each letter individually, but I just wanted to make sure I had each one perfect still," Raistlin snapped, snatching the parchment from Klea's hands. She raised her brows and held her hands up, backing off. She watched him as he smoothed out the parchment and glared at the tear in it. His brows were drawn low over his eyes which seemed to burn with anger and his jaw was clenched firmly.

"Are you okay, Raistlin?" Klea asked gently.

"I'm fine," he snapped back, not even looking at her.

"You don't seem fine," Klea muttered, digging the toe of her shoe into the dirt. Raistlin sighed in exasperation.

"Shouldn't you be leaving?" he remarked angrily.

"Oh no, my teacher won't be coming back for another couple of hours, and there's nothing to do back at the mage ware shop but clean," Klea replied.

"So what were you planning on doing here?" Raistlin asked grimly.

"Well, I don't know, I thought you and I could just, hang out or something..." Klea's voice faded off as she shuffled her feet, only casting brief glances up at him when she thought he wasn't looking.

"Why?" Raistlin asked incredulously. Why in the world would she want to sit here with _him_? They'd met once before and argued practically the entire time.

"No reason, I'm just sick of being alone in the shop is all," she shrugged.

"There is no one else at the shop? No other students or employees?" Raistlin asked.

"Well, it's closed right now, and when it's open it's usually just me, Mistress, and a local boy guarding the door outside. Sometimes I'll talk with the boy, but they're generally pretty thick-headed. Mistress... isn't much better herself," Klea rolled her eyes.

"Master Theobald wouldn't know a goblin from a hobgoblin," Raistlin chuckled darkly.

Klea smiled. Raistlin returned it before even realizing. He quickly dropped his lips into a terse line and clenched his jaw, looking away from the girl. She must've noticed because he heard her give a sardonic chuckle. He could practically _feel _her eyes roll.

Well, the girl certainly showed no signs of leaving anytime soon, and Raistlin had recess for while still that he didn't really want to spend inside the uncomfortably hot school with Marm. Especially not when someone was willingly spending time with him, even if most of their conversation turned to bickering. Raistlin cleared his throat.

"So, how old are you?" he asked, but sensing her turning the question on himself he hurriedly added: "I'm thirteen."

"Oh? Same," Klea grinned. "Let me guess, winter baby!"

"Actually, summer," Raistlin replied.

"Really?" Klea's brows shot practically into her hairline. "Well, I was off on that one!"

"Now it's my turn I would suppose," he said with a questioning glance to Klea, to which she nodded. He looked at her speculatively, taking note of her coloring, mannerisms, and attitude. He also recalled all the sayings about times of birth and how that influenced one's personality. Raistlin didn't actually believe it, they seemed more local tales than fact. The saying that those born in the summer are more jovial certainly didn't ring true in his case. "Is your birthing day in the spring?"

Klea's mouth gaped as she stared at him. Raistlin assumed he was correct.

"How did you guess?" Klea questioned.

"Well, people say that those born in the spring are usually energetic but also quick-witted, among other things, and these seemed to apply to you better than say, patient and careful," Raistlin explained with a slight smirk.

Klea glared at him but her slight grin took any sting out of it. Now that Raistlin noticed it, her grin was crooked, like Kitiara's.

"My sister grins like that," he commented, not really thinking.

"Like what? You have a sister?" Klea prodded.

"Crooked, where one side smiles bigger than the other, though hers is a bit sinister sometimes," he remarked. "Kitiara, she's my older half-sister."

"Do you get along?" Klea asked, focusing on the 'sinister' comment. Raistlin shrugged.

"She takes care of us, my brother and I. But she's not very caring," he explained, quirking his head, feeling he wasn't making any sense. Klea seemed to understand as she nodded knowingly.

"So, brother?" she asked slyly. Raistlin wondered if this girl performed some kind of spell that just made him reveal everything. To him there seemed no other explanation; conversation just didn't come naturally to Raistlin, especially not with girls!

"Yes, I have a twin brother, Caramon," he seemed compelled to answer, even as he swore for revealing so much to a stranger.

"Ooh! Twins! That sounds great. I have an older brother, but he's a lot older so it's not really the same. I sometimes wish I had someone closer to my age," Klea shared, settling down on the ground, leaning her back against the tree trunk.

"He feels the need for us to be constantly together, but we're very different, so it can be… aggravating at times," Raistlin remarked as he sat down next to the girl. His brows furrowed as he thought of his twin. Strong, jovial, thick-headed; Caramon was everyone's favorite. As opposed to Raistlin: the Sly One.

"I can see that," Klea nodded. "Do you guys look alike?"

"Not in the slightest," Raistlin answered quickly, though that wasn't necessarily true. They had some similar features, but they were nowhere near identical.

"Hmm, so you guys are sort of like opposites? That'd be cool to see," Klea smiled to herself.

Raistlin's face grew hot as he imagined she was picturing the opposite of himself. Instead of thin and weakly, she pictured a strong and healthy boy, with an open, honest face; a handsome version of Raistlin. He suddenly wished that Klea would never meet Caramon.

"When do you have to get back to class?" Klea asked, pulling Raistlin from his jealous thoughts.

Glancing hastily to the sky, trying to determine the position of the sun, Raistlin scrambled to his feet.

"I'm guessing now," Klea grinned.

He hurriedly gathered up all his things: his quill pen, book, and sheaves of parchment. Grabbing his practice letters, noting the tear in the parchment and the miniscule mistakes in a few letters, Raistlin snarled and crumpled it, letting it fall to the ground. Klea picked it up as she also rose to her feet.

"Well, since you're leaving, I guess I'll be off too," Klea said. "Although, I still have some time. I could hop on over to town, maybe try to find your family," she commented to herself, the last spoken well under her breath but Raistlin heard and his cheeks burned.

"I apologize for rushing off," Raistlin grumbled having gathered all his things. He turned to bid goodbye to Klea and found her looking at him with genuine friendliness in her slight smile. "It was nice speaking with you," he said, actually meaning it.

"You too," Klea grinned. "Well, good luck with class!"

"Yes, you as well," Raistlin's lips twitched upwards ever so slightly. "Goodbye," he said hastily and turned to rush off to the school, leaving Klea standing in the clearing staring at her shoes.

Raistlin barely made it back in time and was the last student to enter the classroom. Theobald glared at him as if he was holding everyone up. The other students pointedly ignored him, looking forward as if seeing straight through him.

Raistlin didn't notice any of it.

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>Please review, let me know what you think! I'm currently working on a bigger story as well, so this one may not update consistently or quickly. This chapter is basically like a One-Shot to see if there's interest so let me know if you like it if you want to see more!


	2. Unexpected Friendship

**Author's Notes: **A bit shorter than I intended, but I wanted to get the second chapter out. I want to say thank you to my lovely reviewers! I basically finished this chapter up for you guys :)

Hopefully, the following chapters will get longer... after all this is still kind of the set-up.

Anyway, Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonlance etc. but Klea's mine

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><p><span>14<span>th Summer

The summer that Raistlin turned fourteen was unusually hot. While Raistlin found the weather near intolerable and only conducive to staying indoors and pursuing less rigorous activities like reading, everyone else in town seemed to have been sparked by the heat. Caramon was gone practically all day and well into the night and Raistlin didn't need his brother's grinning hints to know what he was doing. That would've been bad enough, but Caramon even tried to pull Raistlin out of the house every now and then to be ambushed by a group of giggling girls. Raistlin's snide dismissal of the girls confounded his brother.

"You know Raist, maybe if you talked to some of 'em you could have some fun for once," Caramon grinned elbowing his brother in the ribs. Raistlin grimaced as he could practically feel his ribs bruising.

Caramon waved to the girls carrying laundry baskets as the boys passed towards the stairs. Raistlin rolled his eyes. Caramon paused at his brother's response and pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"If you're worried about talking to a girl, I can help! It's really not that scary if the girl's into you," he offered helpfully.

"Thank you, my brother, but I think I can quite manage!" Raistlin scoffed unappreciatively, insulted by the implication, true as it may be. Just the thought of talking to one of the pretty, blushing, giggling girls made Raistlin's stomach twist and turn so that he swore he must've swallowed some kind of live creature that was now wriggling around in his insides. Despite how ridiculous he thought the entire thing was, Raistlin's body seemed determined to undermine him, making his palms sweat and stomach twist and tongue grow heavy so that he couldn't make any sense around girls. All the more reason he resented the idea—the fears and desires of the flesh overwhelming all reason—and so he scoffed at the notion because the alternative was to lose himself like the other fools.

"Well, I mean if you haven't talked to one before—" Caramon began but Raistlin was quick to interject.

"You know, I have actually spoken to girls before," he rolled his eyes. Well, one girl in particular, but she was so unlike these creatures of fluttering lashes that Raistlin began to suspect Klea was another creature entirely. At least she didn't make him feel all out of sorts, rather he was comfortable with her if he could be comfortable with anyone.

"Who? Kit and Weird Meggin don't count!" Caramon teased.

"I wasn't referring to either of them," Raistlin scorned.

"Well, then who have you been talking to?" Caramon pried.

Raistlin pulled up his cowl partly to protect from Carmon's prying questions but partly to shield his eyes from the glare of the setting sun as they ascended the steps. Realizing that Raistlin wasn't going to answer him, Caramon took to detailing his own interactions with members of the opposite sex, much to Raistlin's disgust. Raistlin began to regret his decision to pull the cowl up as he felt he was baking inside it, but the hood provided such an excellent barrier from Caramon's conversation that Raistlin wasn't yet ready to pull it down and have to engage with his brother's raunchy tales.

Thinking of Klea reminded Raistlin that she had not visited all summer. Perhaps she was busy, or never got a chance alone in the shop, or the ring was sold. Raistlin involuntarily shivered at that thought. The mere idea of losing the only person that had come anywhere close to being his friend was just unnerving. Of course, Raistlin thought bitterly, she may not even consider him a friend and is simply choosing not to return.

"Raist? You listening?" Caramon interrupted Raistlin's thoughts.

"What? No!" Raistlin snapped. At the hurt look on his brother's face, Raistlin quickly tried to amend his rash reaction. "I am sorry, my brother. I was deep in thought," he explained gently.

"Oh, okay. Well, anyway I was saying that Sturm met someone from Solamnia the other day," Caramon related to his brother.

"A Solamnic? Travelling all the way down here?" Raistlin asked.

"Yeah, she was real pretty too. I didn't get to talk to her though," Caramon sighed.

"Do not worry, my brother. I am certain that you will find someone to distract you from this tragedy," Raistlin sneered.

Caramon seemed wont to further discuss this girl, but Raistlin was spared the mooning as they finally reached their house. Voices could be heard from the windows, female voices. Caramon walked right on in, but Raistlin hesitated at the threshold of his own home. But was it really his home? He lived here, but no one in the house understood him. He felt much more safe and comfortable in his clearing by the school. There he could be himself without anyone questioning or being openly hostile—something that couldn't be said for this house now that the Widow Judith had practically become a part of the family.

"Raist?" Caramon called from within the house.

"Yes, my brother, I'm coming," Raistlin sighed and entered into the house, carefully shutting the door behind him.

Rosamun sat in her rocking chair, but not in one of her dazes. She was actively speaking and laughing with the other woman sitting across from her: the Widow Judith. Rosamun smiled at Raistlin when he entered, but the grin faltered after she glanced over at Judith, who didn't even acknowledge Raistlin's presence beyond drawing her lips into a terse line.

Caramon greeted the Widow Judith much like he greeted their mother. Raistlin reciprocated Judith's disregard, leaning over to kiss his mother on the cheek and completely bypassing the other woman. He and the widow had an understanding: they both disliked the other and neither had any incentive to try to change that. Caramon settled in to join the conversation with his mother and Judith, while Raistlin, not belonging to this new family dynamic, retreated to his room.

14th Autumn

Raistlin paused just at the last line of trees before the clearing. The leaves had barely started turning, changing the canopy into a bright array of green and gold. The golden leaves seemed to turn the sunlight gold as well, as if drawing a thin warm veil across the scene. The tree trunk lay where it always had, with a fresh growing of moss on its northward facing side.

It was just as it always was. Yet it was different.

It had been changed ever since that silly girl popped into it last winter. The clearing was no longer Raistlin's place of solitude. It was certainly still his place of comfort, his escape from the others who ignored him, or teased him, or just simply didn't understand him. But Klea had changed it. She turned the spot into one where he didn't have to be alone to feel safe and free. She had turned it into the one place where Raistlin didn't want to be alone.

Hence the pause at the trees.

Raistlin had a sinking feeling that the clearing had been irreversibly changed and could never go back to how it was. Which was the only option left if he continued coming here. Because Klea wouldn't be there, and that would just make the solitude lonely.

She hadn't visited all summer and Raistlin took that to mean that the visits were over. Whether she could no longer get there, or the novelty of travelling across the continent to sit with a cynical boy had worn off Raistlin knew she wouldn't be back. And now he wasn't sure if he could enter what was once his solace.

Raistlin turned to head back to the school when he nearly jumped out of his skin.

CRACK!

"Made you flinch!" that familiar, annoying, teasing voice sang out.

Raistlin rolled his eyes and scoffed, ignoring the fluttering of his stomach at the familiar voice. He took a deep breath before spinning around, shooting a glare towards Klea.

"Well, when your arrival is preceded by the snapping of a whip, it is understandable that I would be startled by it!" he snapped. "Especially when it was the last thing I expected," he muttered under his breath, fighting the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. Klea had heard the comment though and took the offensive.

"The last thing _you_ expected?! The last thing I expected was for you to actually be here! Although it looks like you were just escaping before I could arrive!" Klea accused.

Raistlin was taken aback.

"What? What are you talking about? You haven't visited all summer!" Raistlin retorted.

"Ugh! I came practically every week during the summer! You were the one that wasn't here! After about the fourth time I figured out that you were avoiding me!" Klea snapped.

Raistlin deadpanned. He dropped his head into his hands and began to laugh, his shoulders shaking. Klea raised a brow, bemused.

"Uh, Raistlin? You okay?" she hesitated.

Raistlin lifted his face from his hands, a sardonic smile spread across his face as he chuckled. He walked into the clearing, just a few steps away from her.

"You're telling me that you came here," Raistlin pointed to the ground. "All summer?"

"Yeah!" Klea spat. Raistlin couldn't contain his mirth. "What in the Abyss is wrong with you?"

"I don't have school in the summer! So I'm not here," he explained.

Klea's jaw dropped. She quickly snapped it shut, though, and fixed Raistlin with a glare, putting her hands on her hips.

"You get the summer off?! That's so not fair! I have schooling year-round!" she complained.

"I would almost rather that to wasting the days away having to listen to my brother go on about girls all the time," Raistlin chuckled.

"You only say that because you get the time to waste!" Klea retorted.

"Fair point," Raistlin conceded, settling down on the ground and leaning his back against the fallen tree. Klea sat down next to him cross-legged and sighed before grinning ruefully.

"Well, that was a major miscommunication there," she laughed.

"Yes," Raistlin agreed.

"I was so mad at you, thinking you were avoiding me," Klea said.

"Same," Raistlin admitted grimly.

"Mainly because I had thought we were… well, friends," Klea shrugged. "I don't get a lot of those, so I guess I kind of figured this would turn out the same."

Raistlin studied Klea's face. Her brow furrowed slightly and the slight purse of her lips made a small dimple in her cheek. Raistlin recognized the look of one thinking of less than successful attempts.

"I understand," Raistlin said gently. "And… I consider you my friend."

"Really?" Klea raised her brow skeptically, though a slight smile tugged at the side of her mouth. "You don't find me annoying?"

"Oh, you're terribly annoying," Raistlin stated before grinning and continuing. "But not in the way that others are. Others are ignorant, superstitious, and juvenile. They don't understand us at all," Raistlin declared.

Klea noticed that he included her in that. That he thought she understood him, that they were the same, at least in some aspects. It was reassuring, as she had been feeling much the same way. Klea suddenly punched Raistlin in the shoulder, not hard, but he wasn't expecting it.

"What was that for?" Raistlin demanded.

"Things were getting a bit too sentimental," Klea grinned.

"Never mind, I don't understand you either," he chuckled, causing Klea to bump her shoulder into his.

"So, how did you waste your _entire summer_ of _no school_?" Klea asked, stressing how ridiculous she thought his complaining was. Raistlin smirked.

"Studying mostly. There's this woman in town that is a sort of healer, and she teaches me about plants, and medicines, and the like. My brother meanwhile ran around with probably every girl in town, and attempted to tell me all the details," Raistlin grimaced.

"Ooh, fun," Klea grinned sarcastically.

"Quite," Raistlin sneered. "The worst would be when he would try to set me up, usually by having some girls corner us."

"Bet the ladies are all over you," Klea teased. Raistlin glared at her. "So, your family, I've heard all about your brother, but that's it. You don't really talk about your parents," Klea prodded.

"My father is usually off working. My mother… well, she used to go into these… trances," Raistlin explained grimly, the memories still sore.

"Magical talent ignored and left to fester," Klea shook her head knowingly. "The same happened to my aunt, that's why when I started displaying the same inclinations my parents immediately stuck me in school. They didn't want to watch their daughter go through that."

"Yes," Raistlin breathed. "It was as if she was in another world, seeing and hearing other things, not us," Raistlin's face darkened. "But she has been much better since the Widow Judith arrived."

"Who?" Klea asked.

"A woman that arrived in town a year ago. She's a widow that's also a follower of some new religion, who started spending time with my mother. I assume as a sort of charity case, though my brother and father insist she's just trying to help. She's kind with them and my mother, but she is suspicious of me as a magic-user," Raistlin explained.

"Ugh! One of _those_! They're so annoying and self-righteous, there's a ton of them up in Solamnia," Klea exclaimed.

"I can imagine," Raistlin said, thinking of Sturm and his distaste for magic.

"I mean, my family is sympathetic just because of the history, but they're still wary of it. I never get to talk about it at home. The first time I did my father practically ran out of the room while my mother just froze, looking like a ghost. Luckily my brother wasn't there or he probably would've yelled at me," Klea chuckled ruefully.

"He's a lot worse about that stuff. He wanted to be a knight, but he quit when he was still a squire because the arrogant ass wouldn't "debase himself for old cowards" he said," Klea scoffed. "Now he's a mercenary, always out looking for some fight to get into."

"My half-sister is much the same. Seeking wealth and power through the use of her sword no matter the job," Raistlin shared. "At least, I assume she's selling her sword. Or her body, that's a possibility as well. Most likely both."

"And I thought my family was bad," Klea laughed. "Your sister would probably get along with my brother."

"Either that or they'd kill each other."

"That goes without saying," Klea smirked.

The conversation wandered off into other subjects: anything from comparing curriculums to telling jokes—the latter was mostly Klea telling Raistlin jokes, though he did recall a few he had overheard in the Inn of the Last Home. The sun began to pass its midpoint signaling that Raistlin's recess was ending. Klea hopped up onto her feet as Raistlin used the tree trunk to help him get to his feet.

"So same time next week? We should also probably figure out a summer plan, because I got really bored without anyone to talk to," Klea announced.

"Yes," Raistlin agreed. "I believe we should investigate the ring a bit more to figure out exactly how it works," he added.

"Oh, I think I know how it works! I just think of the place, picture it in my mind, and I wind up there," Klea said.

"How did you figure that out?" Raistlin asked.

"Well, one time, when I was trying to come here, I got a bit distracted by the smell of a baker's ware and thought about this bakery back in my home town and the next thing I knew I was standing right in the middle of it!" Klea explained.

"Well then, why don't you just think about Solace?" Raistlin asked.

"I don't know what it looks like! I have to be able to picture it," Klea pointed out.

"Then how did you get here the first time? You'd never seen this place."

Klea simply shrugged in answer. Raistlin furrowed his brow. This explanation of the workings of the ring seemed to make sense, but it also led to more questions. Raistlin was still considering this when Klea threw her arms around him.

Raistlin stiffened, his brow furrowed in uncomfortable confusion. He glanced around as she squeezed him in a friendly embrace, but she didn't release him. Raistlin cleared his throat. He really disliked being touched, and hugs were just out of the question.

"Klea?" Raistlin began.

"I'm not letting go until you hug me back," Klea retorted sharply.

Raistlin rolled his eyes and glanced around as if seeking help, but there was none. After another second of hoping she would give up, Raistlin realized that she wasn't going to. If he knew anything for certain about her, it was that she was the most stubborn and persistent person he had ever met. His only escape from this would be to just get it over with.

He tentatively raised his arms and awkwardly patted Klea's back quickly. Her arms loosened and Raistlin hurriedly stepped out of her reach. Klea fixed him with a smirk and a glare before she disappeared with her usual resounding 'CRACK!' The message was clear.

This wasn't over.

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>I kinda changed the style a bit at first. I think I'm going to mainly focus on Raistlin's perspective, simply because this is basically a Soulforge AU which is from his perspective, but I'm thinking about doing a few scenes from Klea's perspective as we go along.

As always, I love reviews! Even just one will motivate me to write faster and I have such exciting things planned for this that I want to share with you guys!


	3. Mistaken Attention

**Author's Notes:** Sorry for the long wait guys, but upside: this one is longer! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><span>14<span>th Spring

Thin fingers toyed with a mirror; standing it vertical on the table, rotating it slowly. Klea gazed outwards, not really seeing anything, disinterestedly spinning the mirror with one hand. Her other hand had the job of propping up her head, her fingers forcing up a bit of her cheek so that one side looked considerably chunkier than the other. Her lids began to droop, until she caught sight of something fascinating: finally!

The guard outside the shop screwed up his face as a beam of light struck his face. The light hastened away though, directed by the mirror Klea was playing with. Now this was something that could occupy her time!

Klea straightened up, a mischievous grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. Bending low over the counter, Klea positioned the mirror so that it was closer to the rays of sunlight coming through the windows. Tilting the mirror out towards the door, a flash of light lit up a spot on the wall of the shop across the street. The guard didn't notice. Klea pursed her lips and directed the light into the guard's face.

The teenage boy blinked hastily as the glare struck him full in the eye. Blinking rapidly he searched for the source of the light, but by that time, Klea had redirected the light to the building across the street. Noticing it, the boy glanced up and down the street surreptitiously, Klea guessed to see if anyone else noticed it. There weren't many people at this end of the street to notice such a thing. The guard crossed over to the street, turning to try to find the source of the reflection.

Klea ducked down behind the counter quickly when the guard's glance passed over the shop. She hesitantly peeked her head up over the counter to see the guard looking up at the roofs of the buildings, apparently thinking there to be something metal up there to be causing it. Klea smirked as the boy looked at the light from every angle, as if he could figure out the angle from which it was cast.

"Klea!" a sharp voice intoned.

Klea jumped and let the mirror fall flat to the counter. The light disappeared, sending the guard into even more confusion. Turning around, Klea found her mistress standing in the doorway in the back, which led to her study. The black-robed wizardess glared at Klea sternly.

"I would expect you to be mature enough not to play with magical artifacts," the wizardess snapped.

Klea grabbed up the mirror, ducking her head meekly.

"Apologies, Mistress Evelyn," Klea replied. "I'll go put it away."

Klea matched her actions to her words and hastily stepped over to the shelves on the left. She placed it upon a stand on a low shelf containing other baubles like bracelets or paper weights; seemingly harmless objects that were in fact magical items, though not of particularly dangerous or powerful quality, hence why they were on a lower shelf. The more powerful and thus valuable artifacts were locked within cases at the back of the shop.

"I have to go meet with a young family to discuss their child's entrance to my school," Mistress Evelyn said tersely as she placed a cloak around her shoulders. "I expect I should be gone until well into the afternoon, possibly not before evening. There are some new objects that need to be set out, I left a list of where they should go on my desk. I trust you can manage the shop until I return."

Klea kept her face hidden from her mistress as she tried to suppress a smirk. Sure, Mistress Evelyn had to go "speak with a prospective family." She couldn't _possibly_ be going to meet her lover for their increasingly regular afternoon delight. Honestly, she wondered how her mistress had survived so long while being so terrible at hiding things.

"Of course, Mistress," Klea said meekly, taking care not to let any hint of sarcasm into her voice.

As it was, Mistress Evelyn peered at her suspiciously, but she apparently thought better of it and left the shop. As Mistress Evelyn locked the door, Klea retreated back behind the counter and into her mistress's study.

Klea shook her head at the disorganized room. How her mistress ever found anything was a mystery to the girl. She had to shuffle through at least a dozen papers before finding the list her mistress had referred to. Bringing it out into the shop, Klea placed it on the counter before retrieving the boxes from the back room. There were only about a dozen artifacts, only one of which powerful enough to warrant being locked in the back, so Klea finished her work easily enough.

With a sly grin, Klea unlocked the box that held several magical rings within. These were quite powerful, one being able to dampen the effects of magical spells on the wearer, but there was only one that Klea was interested in. Plucking out the silver ring, Klea closed and locked the box. With a glance out to the guard who was still outside just in case anyone tried to break in, Klea slipped behind the counter, grabbing her pack from underneath, and into her mistress's study.

The window was open where the delicious scents of a baker's wares drifted in. Klea breathed the aroma in deeply before shutting the window. She then moved to the largest area of cleared space as she had noticed that when she used the ring it tended to disturb things around her like a gust of wind. Here she closed her eyes and slipped on the ring.

"Alright! Are you ready to take me into town?" Klea announced her arrival after a quick swipe of her sleeve across her mouth.

Raistlin was pacing in front of the tree trunk, and jumped slightly at her arrival. He spun around, having to check a sigh as he fixed her with a stern glare. Klea grinned at the way his jaw twitched when he was irritated.

"You were supposed to be here before the sun reached its zenith," Raistlin snapped.

"My mistress decided to delay her departure, it's not my fault! And that was a tentative time frame, it's still more or less at its peak," she shrugged.

Raistlin rolled his eyes and scoffed but didn't pursue the argument.

"Whatever, let's just go!" he said as he turned from her.

Klea skipped up to his side as he led them into the woods.

"So how big exactly are these vallenwoods? I mean they have to be considerably large for people to build houses up in them, but I mean, are they big houses or more like one or two-room homes? And have their leaves come back yet? I'd hate my first sight of Solace to be of barren trees! And what about—"

"Would you please shut up," Raistlin interrupted petulantly. Klea raised her brows.

"Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bark," she retorted.

"I had a difficult time of escaping my brother. He insisted on coming with me," Raistlin grumbled.

"Well, why didn't you bring him?" Klea asked, although she figured she already knew the answer.

Although Raistlin did have affection towards his brother, he clearly felt smothered by his brother's protectiveness, made all the more sour by a sense of jealousy. Klea had noticed the bitterness in his voice whenever he spoke of his brother's strength or geniality. He especially tried to seem irritated by his brother's obsession with girls, but she recognized that Raistlin was more upset that his brother had more appeal to girls.

Raistlin scoffed at the question and didn't bother to answer.

"I won't be, like, ambushed and held under suspicion for being new, will I?" Klea changed the subject.

"Of course not! Solace is a crossroads town, strangers are constantly passing through. You may be ambushed by boys enslaved by their raging hormones though," Raistlin grimaced.

"I doubt that," Klea laughed. Raistlin didn't.

After they had been walking a while, Raistlin began to grow short of breath. Klea unconsciously slowed her steps so as not to outpace him. After a particularly wheezing gasp of air from the boy, Klea let out a heavy breath and stopped. Raistlin paused and glanced back at her questioningly.

"Sorry, just gotta catch my breath real quick," she sighed breathlessly. Raistlin narrowed his eyes at her as she sat down on the ground and opened up her pack. Klea removed a water skin from her pack and held it out to Raistlin. "Thirsty?"

She could tell he knew she was faking being tired, but after assessing his own level of exhaustion, he took the water skin from her and sat down too. Klea tried to hide her grin. After taking a sip, Raistlin passed the water skin back to her. Klea took a long swig of it before offering it once more to Raistlin, and at his refusal, plugged it and returned it to her pack.

Klea let out a few heavy breaths, keeping an ear out for the slowing of Raistlin's breathing in the meanwhile. Sweat beaded on Raistlin's brow from the exertion and his face was flushed. From the draw of his brows, Klea knew Raistlin was scolding his weakness. She really thought he got too defensive about it. He was sickly as a child, it's not like he could help it now! It was more irritating that he would willfully refuse to admit his weakness and thus get worse than if he just said he was tired when he was.

When Raistlin's breathing returned to normal and the redness left his cheeks, Klea hopped to her feet.

"Alright! I'm good now! Let's be off," Klea announced.

Raistlin got to his feet less gracefully but was more energized to continue the trek. Klea related the tale of her messing with the guard at the shop, to which Raistlin actually chuckled. They left the woods behind and traveled near a farm. Raistlin seemed to hasten the pace just as a cart came into view in the fields.

"Hey, why don't we ask the farmer for a ride to town?" Klea suggested.

"No, it's not much farther, we can manage on our own," Raistlin muttered quickly.

The cart came closer and was clearly travelling the same direction as them. It was going to outpace them, getting to town much quicker than they could on foot. Klea figured Raistlin just didn't want to take "charity" from someone, but her feet were kinda sore. Klea stepped out as the cart came within shouting distance.

She realized that it wasn't the farmer driving it, he was much too young, closer to her age though he seemed very tall and muscular. It must be the farmer's son driving it then. Figuring this was even better as a kid probably wouldn't ask as many questions about where she was from, Klea waved her arm.

"No! What are you doing?" Raistlin whispered frantically, trying to pull her arm back down. But the farmer's son had seen her and so slowed his cart to a stop beside them. Raistlin cursed and groaned, and Klea cast him a scathing glance.

"Raist?" the boy called out, looking down at them. "Raist, what are you doing out here? I thought you were just going into town today?"

Klea glanced over to Raistlin who had given up trying to hide himself behind her and rolled his eyes.

"I had forgotten some books at school that I need for my studies over the weekend," Raistlin snapped.

"Well, why didn't you have me give you a ride over? That's too long a walk for you to take by yourself, and for just a bunch of books," the boy worried.

He had an open, honest face with a perpetual grin. His skin was beginning to tan from working in the sun and his brown hair curled about his face and shoulders, sticking to his skin in some places from sweat. He was quite attractive, but Klea figured she was not the only girl to think so and thus assumed this to be one of the boys Raistlin had warned about.

"Did you ever think maybe I wanted to travel alone, Caramon?" Raistlin replied peevishly.

Caramon. Hey, wasn't that the name of his twin brother? Looking back at him, Klea's eyes widened. They really were almost complete opposites! Although, after the realization, she did notice they shared certain facial features, though Raistlin's were a bit softer than his brother's. Looking back to Raistlin, Klea noted his jawline, pale blue eyes, and soft auburn hair and briefly considered that he might be more handsome than his brother if it wasn't for the marks of his childhood sickness that had left his cheeks wan. Of course, she didn't think Raistlin was unattractive, the two were just very different, in appearance and the general air about each boy.

"Well, no. I'm sorry, Raist," Caramon answered glumly, with a hangdog air.

Klea suddenly understood the sibling dynamic.

Caramon finally noticed her and seemed taken aback. He shook his head slightly as he looked from her to his brother, and then back to her.

"Hey, I've seen you around before. You traveled through Solace last summer! You're from Solamnia right?" Caramon grinned.

Now it was Klea's turn to be taken aback. How did he know her? There had been one time during the summer that she had ventured out of the woods and ran into a few people outside a town—could that have been Solace? She hadn't seen any signs of a town apart from the people. Although, now she remembered that Solace was a tree-town, she wouldn't have seen it being tucked up in the branches. Even still, she had spoken to maybe three people, none of which were Caramon, she would've remembered that.

"I'm Klea—"

"I ran into her on the road back to town," Raistlin interrupted with a cool lie. "She was coming from Haven where her family has been staying seeking some rather rare items. Surprisingly, items made in Abanasinia fetch a high price in Solamnia as they are seen as exotic."

"Yes, but the inns in Haven are awful and my father just couldn't go another day without some decent ale and so sent me back to Solace for some of Otik's. My brother was going to go initially but he got into a fight last night, so I drew the short stick," Klea played along with the lie smoothly, though she made a mental note to ask Raistlin about it later.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, I'm Caramon. Raist's twin brother. Let me give you guys a ride back to town, I'm heading that way already," Caramon offered.

"Sure, thank you," Klea accepted much to Raistlin's chagrin.

Caramon hopped down from the cart to give Klea a hand up. Klea tried to ignore how he took her in from head to toe. Raistlin rolled his eyes and scoffed, shooing off his brother's attempts to help him up. Raistlin clambered up and sat next to her, saving her from being seated next to his brother. Klea cast him a quick smile before Caramon hopped up as well and took up the reins.

"So, how did you know I was from Solamnia?" Klea asked, the question itching at her.

"You do have an accent," Raistlin retorted softly so that only she could hear.

"Shut up," she whispered back, grinning.

"Oh, well I saw you briefly when you were near town during the summer. I didn't actually get to talk to you, but you spoke with my friend Sturm who told me about you. He's from Solamnia too," Caramon explained, his cheeks reddening faintly.

"Oh! Yes, I remember him! He was very kind," Klea grinned, recalling the handsome boy. Now _that_ boy had the look of a knight.

Raistlin scoffed. Klea glanced over to see if his brother had done something to warrant it, but Caramon was simply looking ahead, holding the reins. As she looked over though, Caramon glanced over at her, but upon her catching him, he blushed and quickly averted his eyes. Caramon cleared his throat.

"So, uh, Klea," he began. "Are you from a noble family up in Solamnia?" he asked, though it sounded like he was trying to lead toward something.

"Oh um, well, sort of," Klea replied, looking out over the fields, ignoring Raistlin's quizzical gaze. "I mean, my family used to be more prominent, uh, like before the Cataclysm. But then the people turned against them, because my ancestors were knights, and they, uh, burned down the family keep. So there were some rough times for a while when the family was basically no better than paupers, but the boys kept being sent to become knights and eventually my great great grandfather came back and was elected lord of the region. But my aunt, well, something happened with her and my mom protected her so their parents kind of disowned them. I mean, we're still well off, but my family's not exactly, _prestigious_," Klea explained haltingly.

"Oh, so you're not set up to marry some wealthy lord or whatnot?" Caramon tried to ask casually but his message was clear: was she available.

"No, nothing like that," Klea answered, avoiding his glance.

Raistlin sucked in a breath and his arm pressed against hers as discreet comforting. He understood her vague description of how her family lost prestige, though he had not known the depth of her family history or status.

"Well, that's good!" Caramon smiled. Upon realizing what he said, he looked horrified and quickly glanced over to her to amend it. "I mean, uh, that way you can choose for yourself," Caramon offered hesitatingly.

Klea smirked while Raistlin shook his head.

Caramon didn't get any smoother the rest of the trip making Klea seriously question Raistlin's claims of his brother being popular with the girls. Unless they liked him because he was so adorably awkward. Somehow, she didn't think that was it though.

Caramon pulled on the reins to halt the cart and quickly hopped down. He put out a hand to help his brother down, but Raistlin glared at him and ignored it. Raistlin hopped down from the cart, jarring his ankle upon landing. The drop had been larger than he had expected, but he doubted he had done anything serious to his ankle.

Caramon watched as his brother hopped down, his face softening at his brother's grimace upon landing hard. Once Raistlin was down though, Caramon turned his attention to the girl. Grinning, he offered up his hand. Klea kindly took it and let Caramon help her down. Raistlin turned away, scowling and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Thank you for the ride," Klea said.

"Oh, don't mention it," Caramon grinned sheepishly.

Klea smiled and walked over to Raistlin. Nudging him playfully she recaptured his attention. Raistlin was momentarily startled from his jealous musings and turned to her as if in surprise.

"So, you gonna take me into town?" she asked him.

"Oh, of course," Raistlin replied. "Thank you, my brother, I will see you tonight," he called back over his shoulder, not bothering to turn to look back at Caramon.

Caramon hastened after him and pulled him back though. Raistlin cast his brother with a withering glare, causing Caramon to remove his hand from Raistlin's arm, but he didn't move back.

"What's the deal with her?" Caramon asked in a hushed tone, nodding over to Klea.

"What do you mean my brother?" Raistlin sighed in exasperation.

"Well, it doesn't really make sense that her parents would send her alone, on foot all the way here from Haven just for some of Otik's ale, especially when she's not from here. I think she's lying about why she's here. Plus," Caramon paused, glancing at Raistlin, but then didn't continue.

"Caramon, I am no mind reader, you must speak your thoughts for me to be in on them," Raistlin snapped. To be honest he was a little unnerved that his brother had picked up on their lie so easily. A little proud too, maybe Caramon wasn't as gullible as he gave him credit for. But on second thought, the story he had given of Klea's journey did appear quite illogical, apparently enough so that even his brother saw through it.

"Plus, you two seem to be pretty friendly," Caramon raised a brow, watching his brother intently.

Raistlin was silent. He had tried to act more formally with her, but there were little things between the two that showed familiarity. For instance, when she had nudged him he hadn't shied away from her touch. He had also sat next to her, when he typically wouldn't choose to sit next to a stranger. Maybe Raistlin wasn't as good at play-faking as he thought.

"Do you like her, Raist?" Caramon asked suddenly.

Raistlin's eyes widened and he stared at his brother incredulously. What a ridiculous question! He might seem familiar with the girl, but just because he wasn't repulsed by her touch didn't mean he was lusting after her.

"Of course not! I didn't think you were_ that_ thick-skulled my brother," Raistlin scoffed.

"Oh well, I think _I_ do," Caramon replied, gazing after Klea who had turned to tap her foot impatiently, pointedly staring at Raistlin. "She's really pretty. But for some reason, she makes me nervous, like I don't know what to say. That's never happened to me before."

"She's not like the girls you're used to my brother," Raistlin smirked.

"I know that," Caramon agreed with a grin.

"What about your suspicions, my brother?" Raistlin scorned.

"If I get to know her better she'll probably tell me the truth," he replied, shrugging.

Raistlin shook his head and left his brother. Caramon climbed back onto the cart and waved after his brother and the girl. Klea waved back, Raistlin didn't even turn to see the wave.

Klea raised a brow at Raistlin's grim expression as he joined her.

"What's with you?" she asked bluntly.

"My brother is impossible," Raistlin spat. "He likes you, by the way," he added as an afterthought, though he boiled at the very thought. Here his brother was trying to take another thing from him.

"_No_!" Klea exclaimed with heavy sarcasm. Raistlin smirked.

It wasn't a far walk from where Caramon dropped them off to a point where they could see the looming vallenwoods. Klea was in awe of the beautiful, giant trees whose leaves were new and green. Although they couldn't yet see the houses or bridges in the trees, they knew they were there, though still an imaginary image to Klea.

"Okay, this area kind of looks familiar," she remarked, looking around at the more normal trees at the edge of town.

It wasn't until the buildings in the trees became visible that Klea realized just how enormous the vallenwoods were. She was dwarfed by the trunk, which seemed about thirty feet in diameter. Crossing underneath the great boughs, she had to practically dislocate her neck to see the bottoms of the lowest branches. Raistlin watched her curiously as she stared around in open-mouthed wonder as people hastened across the bridges spanning between the trees.

"You've lived here all your life?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes," Raistlin answered.

"I'm sorry," she replied gently. Raistlin raised a brow and scrutinized her. "Because the wonder of this place is not special to you," she explained with a hint of sorrow.

Raistlin hadn't ever really considered that before. He had to admit that Solace did have a kind of charm and beauty, but as he had grown up here, the giant vallenwoods were just normal. Living in the trees was ordinary. As she said, nothing about Solace was special to him.

Yet, he felt he could appreciate how special it all seemed to her. Her bright eyes were lit with an unfettered admiration and excitement. They darted about at every movement, every sound. The sunlight would catch them as they glanced upward, somehow setting her green eyes afire with golden flames. Her face was flushed and mouth slightly parted as she gazed eagerly at everything, as if trying to taste the very air of the town. She turned her burning gaze to Raistlin who paused momentarily.

"Yes… I'm sorry, too," he muttered. Raistlin cleared his throat. "So, would you like to go up?" he asked her, gesturing to a set of stairs leading high up into the trees.

Klea didn't even respond beyond a huge smile and a race to the staircase.

Raistlin shook his head as he followed after her. Klea hardly waited for him and bolted up the stairs as soon as he reached the railing. She waited at the top of the stairs, but Raistlin couldn't be sure if she was waiting for him, or if she had just been struck motionless by the view from the walkways. He guessed the latter as she was staring in open-mouthed amazement at the houses built amongst the boughs, the leaves hanging not too far overhead, and the people traveling across the walkways between trees. She started when he came up beside her as if she had been lost in her own world.

Raistlin automatically turned their steps towards the Inn of the Last Home. If there was one place someone should go to upon their first visit to Solace, it was the inn. As he watched Klea's expressions to everything around her, he realized he wanted to see her reaction to the inn—it's stained glass windows catching the light and sending it dancing, the wooden bar that was part of the tree itself, the smell of Otik's spiced potatoes. Raistlin glanced to Klea, wondering that her awe at his hometown was granting him an appreciation of Solace's beauty.

"What are you grinning at me like that for?" Klea asked with a quirked brow.

"I was doing no such thing!" Raistlin snapped, assuming a scowl so fast he hoped she would think she had imagined the smile that he could still feel tugging at his lips. Klea laughed and Raistlin had to roll his eyes to combat the slight smile that he couldn't help but let slip.

Raistlin's smile dropped suddenly as he noticed two girls looking over at him and Klea and giggling and whispering to each other. Raistlin's face drained of color, except for the redness rushing to his cheeks despite his best efforts to resist it, and he ducked his head down to stare at his and Klea's feet. They were strangely in sync with their steps, but of course as soon as he paid attention to it he got off step with her. Klea narrowed her eyes at Raistlin and nudged him in the arm.

"Hey, what's going on? Our feet can't be that interesting," she grinned.

"Nothing," Raistlin fumbled, casting a quick glance upwards, but after once more catching the eye of the two girls he hastily ducked back down. The girls giggled louder and Klea finally noticed them.

Klea's brows furrowed as she glanced from the girls to Raistlin. Suddenly her eyes glinted mischievously and she smirked. Klea slipped her hand around Raistlin's arm and leaned further into him. Raistlin stared at her like she was crazy, but Klea simply grinned vapidly and giggled.

"What are you doing?" Raistlin deadpanned.

"Just trust me," Klea whispered and then let out a high-pitched, bubbly noise that Raistlin had never heard her make before. He was a bit perturbed to realize she was laughing.

The girls watching them immediately raised their brows, eyes widening. They hastily turned to each other to whisper furiously before obviously craning their heads to look after Raistlin as he passed by them with Klea glued to his side like some silly, giggling growth.

As soon as the girls passed out of sight, Klea dropped Raistlin's arm and resumed her typical smirk. She shivered a bit involuntarily at the sounds she had made but gave Raistlin a triumphant grin. Raistlin glared at her questioningly.

"Girls like what they think others like. Now, because they think you're appealing to me, they'll find you appealing," she explained as if this was the simplest concept in the world.

Raistlin was thoroughly perplexed. He hadn't ever imagined girls to be so complicated and well, shallow. Well, he had his suspicions, but this just seemed weird. He shook his head and didn't press the matter but determined to gloat to her later about her faulty reasoning when her ploy didn't work. Upon reflection, Raistlin wasn't quite sure if he wanted it to work or not.

Raistlin wasn't disappointed by Klea's reaction to the Inn of the Last Home. Her eyes shone brightly as she took it all in, running her hands along the smooth bar, playing with the colored lights cast by the stained glass windows, and hungrily sniffing at the delicious odor of Otik's cooking. They grabbed a quick bite to eat—well, Klea ate while Raistlin barely nibbled at a few potatoes before passing his own portion to her. Raistlin quickly hurried them out however after noticing a few of the other patrons and barmaids glancing curiously at him and Klea. He wanted to hustle his friend out of there before Otik came out to play one thousand questions—of which Raistlin figured most would be hinting to Klea being a pretty young girl.

"Do you now have a mental image of Solace so you can use the ring to get here?" Raistlin asked as they strolled along the walkways.

"I think so. I've especially memorized a few spots that were a bit secluded, which would work for my entrances," she remarked charmingly. "I should probably test it first, though. Just to make sure," she said pulling out her ring.

Klea turned it in her hand a bit, frowning at the blackened edges. Raistlin glanced over to see what she was frowning at but she hastily closed her hand around the ring to hide it's discoloration. Klea fixed a grin onto her face and wrapped her arms around Raistlin. Raistlin rolled his eyes and briefly raised his arms to quickly pat her back to end the hug. Klea released him and was about to slip the ring onto her finger when Raistlin stopped her.

"Could I try it too? I mean, I'm quite interested to know what it's like, to travel with the ring," Raistlin asked. Klea was a bit taken aback.

"Oh, um, I don't know if it would work with two people," she began but at Raistlin's slightly disappointed look she continued hastily. "But we can give it a shot!" she grinned. "Alright, let's see, maybe if you hold onto me, then it might take you too," she guessed.

Raistlin nodded and grabbed onto her arm.

"Okay, now, you have to focus on where we're going. Picture it in your mind as clearly as you can," Klea instructed. Raistlin nodded.

Klea glanced at him a bit warily but closed her eyes to picture the spot beneath the vallenwoods by the stairs that was hidden in shadows. Just as she slipped the ring on her finger, she realized that she hadn't told Raistlin which spot she was thinking of. But the magic was already at work—although this time, she felt pulled in different directions before finally dropping onto solid ground. Klea peeled open her eyes to check their surroundings and her jaw dropped.

"Where the hell are we?" Raistlin demanded.

That was a good question.

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>hehe, yeah, sorry about the cliffhanger ending... except not really :)

I'd love to hear what you guys think about their developing relationship, how others see it, and how others might throw some wrenches in it. I greatly appreciate everyone reading this story! I love reviews and really want to hear from you guys whether it's comments, concerns, grammar mistakes, whatever!

Already working on the next chapter so hopefully it will be up without such a long wait... again, sorry!


	4. Unintentional Journey

**Author's Notes:** Sorry about the wait, it's been a pretty busy few weeks. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

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><p>Trees surrounded the two kids, but not the soaring, gigantic vallenwoods of Solace—where they were supposed to have gone—but average-sized trees. Their feet crunched on the layering of dead leaves from the past winter, though the trees now had new leaves that were green. They created a thick canopy that only rarely deigned to let the sun slip through.<p>

"Klea, where are we?" Raistlin demanded grimly. From his tone, Klea began to understand why people didn't really like him. He could sound very accusatory!

So, maybe it was _sort of_ her fault since she hadn't coordinated with him for what place to think of. But it's not like she did this on purpose! She had never used the ring with simultaneous competing thoughts—she didn't know they would be knocked off course so badly.

"Does it look like I know?" she snapped, probably a bit too harshly, but the silver ring had gone mostly black, so Klea wasn't in a particularly good mood.

"Well, it's not important," Raistlin sighed. "We can just use the ring to get back to Solace."

Klea avoided his gaze and walked over to inspect a nearby tree. Raistlin narrowed his eyes and stepped towards her.

"We can just use the ring again, right?" Raistlin said tersely.

Klea continued to try to avoid his gaze but she finally yielded to his piercing glare and dropped her shoulders dramatically.

"We can't! It runs out of power if you use it too often within a short amount of time. I've found you can only really do three big jumps within six hours," Klea explained testily.

"Well, we've only used two jumps, so we're fine," Raistlin thought out loud, noticing Klea's refusal to look back at him. "Klea? We've only used two jumps, right?" he asked sternly, already knowing the answer.

Klea wouldn't look him in the eye. Raistlin groaned.

"It was lunchtime and I was hungry okay! And the baker was out there again, so I started craving strudel!" Klea exclaimed.

Raistlin groaned and shook his head. How could she have been this stupid? Using up an artifact's limited power with pointless detours. Admittedly, he hadn't even asked if the ring's power was limited, neither had he made sure they coordinated their thoughts on where to go. Even if she was absent-minded and had forgotten, he should've made sure to do so. But then he didn't know they would wind up the-gods-knew how far away from Solace with no way to get back!

Raistlin exhaled a long suffering breath and raised his head. He tried not to glare too harshly at Klea, but from her responding glare he figured he had failed in the attempt. He rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"Well, we might as well start walking," he sighed.

"Which direction?" Klea demanded, throwing up her arms. "Which way is Solace?"

"How should I know?" Raistlin flared.

"I don't know maybe because you live there!" Klea exclaimed. She knew she was being irrational, but arguing with Raistlin was really the only thing she could think to do right now.

"But I don't know where we are! We could be north, south, east, west of Solace, or on another damn continent for all I know!" Raistlin shouted back.

Klea rolled her eyes and shook her head. Turning away from Raistlin, because if she looked at his blotchy red face anymore she would try to make it turn purple, she closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Her heartbeat steadily returned to a normal pace and with a big exhale she imagined she was casting out her anger and irritation. Opening her eyes, she turned back around to face Raistlin.

"Are you any good at climbing trees?" Klea asked simply. Raistlin looked at her like she had gone crazy.

"I live in a tree-town, of course I can climb trees," Raistlin spat, not understanding the relevance of this at all. They should be trying to figure out where they were; finding a road or a town or checking the stars or—oh, she _was_ intelligent.

"Alright, then come on!" Klea commanded as she walked over to a tree with low-hanging branches and tested her weight on it.

The branch held well, so Klea used it to pull herself up while her feet scrabbled along the trunk until she finally managed to swing a leg up over the branch. The next branch was pretty far away, but she could reach, so she just had to struggle a bit to climb up once more without a foothold. Once Klea seated herself on the next branch, Raistlin followed after her. He was taller so it wasn't as tough for him to reach and climb to the branches, but he wasn't the strongest of kids so he was soon breathing heavily right there with her.

"Alright, let's pause for a bit," Klea gasped as she rested her back against the trunk, a leg hanging off on other side of a branch. Raistlin seated himself on a branch a few inches from hers. "You're a regular tree-climber, huh?" Klea teased breathlessly. Raistlin went red, not necessarily a feat considering he was already quite pink from exertion.

"Well, it's not like I seek it out regularly," Raistlin replied defensively.

"That's alright, me neither. Mostly because I'm short and the trees around my town are really big with high branches," she explained, wiping sweat from her brow. She glanced upwards through the branches, trying to see the top of the trees, their end goal. Patting Raistlin's leg, which he glared at, Klea stood up on her branch, hanging onto a nearby one to keep her balance. "We're almost there, come on."

Raistlin sighed and followed after her as she stepped up onto the next level of branches. It wasn't much more of a climb before the two were pushing aside leaves to peer out above the treetops. Klea shielded her eyes with her hand as the sun glared over at them unreservedly as if trying to make up for leaving them devoid of it while under the canopy.

The sun was past its zenith, on the gradual decline towards the horizon in the west. Raistlin glanced away from the glaring sun. His eyes instantly caught hold of the great, lone peak marring the landscape to the northeast. Raistlin pointed over to the mountain.

"That's Prayer's Eye Peak!" he told Klea who glanced at him expectantly, not knowing the region and what that meant. "So we're just a bit southwest of Solace. It should be over around there," Raistlin pointed out to the right of the mountain which loomed close. "We should be near the road."

"Alright, let's get to the road then, and hopefully we'll come across kind travelers willing to give us a ride back," Klea said as she began her descent.

The climb down was not nearly as exhausting as the climb up and they dropped back down to the ground only mildly tired. Their arms and legs were a bit scratched up from the branches, but aside from that they didn't look any worse for wear, well ignoring Klea's wildly straying hair. At Raistlin's smirk, she hastily tried to stamp down the fly-aways, but it was no use, so with a groan she left it a tousled mess. The two set off towards the direction of the road, teasing each other about their tree-climbing skills, or rather lack thereof.

"And when you got stuck holding that branch that was way too far away, with your feet still on the lower one," Raistlin teased with a smirk.

"Well, excuse me for being slightly vertically challenged," Klea retorted. "What's your excuse for getting your foot stuck between those two branches?"

"I slipped!" Raistlin protested.

The two reached the road and wandered along the edge, keeping their eyes peeled for any other travelers, but also for brigands, although considering their appearance they doubted brigands would have any interest in them. They clearly didn't have anything to steal, well aside from the ring, but that was hidden away in a pocket.

The sun hung just over the trees now and their feet grew sore and tired, making both teenagers irritable—at least more so than usual. Klea grew especially fidgety, worrying over her mistress returning to the shop to find Klea and an artifact missing. To be honest though, she knew her mistress would be more upset over the missing ring than her missing protégée.

"Is it a holiday or something? Where are all the damn people?" Klea demanded.

"Well, the nearest town is about a hundred miles away in either direction, and it's getting dark," Raistlin snapped. So he might've exaggerated a bit, Solace couldn't be more than twenty miles away, but it certainly felt like farther.

Klea groaned dramatically and fumbled in her pouch for the ring. Pulling it out, the silver caught the light and set it glinting. Raistlin hastily clamped a hand over the ring and part of Klea's hand, glancing around warily.

"What are you doing? What if there are brigands out there? They just saw that we have something of value!" he whispered harshly. Klea rolled her eyes.

"Wow, Raistlin, I doubt a single, silver ring would catch the eye of any—"

Raistlin did not like the way her voice faded off. He especially didn't like the way her eyes widened as they looked out over his shoulder and she clutched onto his arm. Her nails dug painfully into his arm and he winced.

"Okay, you can say 'told you so' later," Klea began in a smothered breath. "But for now we should definitely _run_!"

At that she bolted, practically dragging Raistlin after her. A gruff voice hollered after them and a great rustling of bushes followed. Heavy footfalls chased after them as Raistlin hastened alongside Klea, not daring to turn to look behind them. Klea turned sharply back into the woods, Raistlin right on her heels and the brigands not far behind.

Klea glanced down at the ring in her clutched hand to see the black slowly fading away, but it wasn't enough yet. Pumping her legs as fast as she could, she darted in between trees forging a zig-zag path through the woods. She could tell Raistlin was right there with her only by the sound of his pounding feet and haggard gasps for breath. She knew his lungs probably felt like bursting, but she didn't dare slow their pace. Her mother had warned her enough times about what brigands did to women they captured.

Racing through the trees, Raistlin felt his legs and lungs failing. His vision gradually began to blur, the edges going black as his face felt like it was burning. Klea wasn't faring much better as his quick glances at her face revealed it to be the color of a tomato and she certainly wasn't going as fast as she had been. The sounds of their pursuers grew louder and Raistlin knew they wouldn't be able to outrun them for much longer. Before he could even consider what would happen if they were caught, Klea skidded to an abrupt halt.

A man leapt out of the woods ahead of them brandishing a knife. Klea slipped along the dead leaves as she redirected herself to the left, Raistlin skidding right after her. They hadn't gotten far though when another man appeared to block their new path. Every direction they tried to turn they found leering men brandishing weapons until they were surrounded. Raistlin and Klea crept closer together, standing back to back as the men closed in around them.

"Do you know any spells yet?" Klea whispered fiercely to Raistlin.

"No, you?" he gasped back.

"Nope," she replied grimly.

"How's the ring coming along?" Raistlin asked as the men pressed closer.

Klea peered down at the ring clutched in her palm. The black was slowly seeping away to reveal brilliant silver, but it wasn't nearly enough to get them back. Klea set her jaw in determination.

Silver flashed in the fading light as a knife appeared in Klea's hand. Raistlin's eyes widened at her nerve, but the brigands didn't seem impressed. They laughed and nudged each other, pointing at the small girl.

"Looks like this one's gonna stick us with her sewing needle," one burly man chortled.

"Well, she has to defend her helpless maid there," another man said nodding to Raistlin.

Raistlin's face burned at the insult. If he had had a weapon of his own he would've flung it at their great ugly faces, maybe slit a throat or two. Klea, despite the men's teasing, seemed quite deft with the small, thin blade. Raistlin hadn't even seen where she had gotten it from, it had seemingly materialized in her hand. She flipped it in her hand, making it dance between her fingers as her eyes reflected the glint of the steel. At that, the brigands gave pause, but an especially grim looking man with a jagged scar shoved at his closest companion.

"They're children, you spineless bastards! I for one am not afraid of a feisty young bitch," he sneered, leering at Klea.

Klea glared a fierce look at the man, but it was Raistlin that burned at the man's intent. Raistlin stepped in front of Klea, shielding her behind his body and glaring at the man. Klea's brow furrowed in confusion at Raistlin's gesture, but as the man moved to lunge at her friend, she glanced down once more to the ring in her hand. It was about a fifth of the way silver. Klea shook her head but set her jaw.

"It'll have to do. Think of the clearing," she ordered.

The man was inches from running through Raistlin with a short sword when Klea grasped hold of Raistlin's hand and slipped on the ring. She hadn't closed her eyes beforehand and was met with swirling colors and grotesquely distorted shapes that made her stomach churn. Clamping her eyes shut didn't seem to help much as the images were seared onto the backs of her eyelids. She felt Raistlin's nails digging into the back of her hand and she tried to focus on the pain rather than the nausea. The ground seemed to burst upon her and her eyes flared open as she crashed hard into the ground, the knife slipping from one hand, the other tearing away from Raistlin's as he too fell hard with a thud.

They both lay there groaning in pain and nausea for a while before even trying to sit up. Raistlin was first to his feet, but he swayed dangerously and plopped back down on the ground with a wince. Klea sat up, her head aching. Reaching her hand to her forehead, Klea noticed the ring on her finger. She slipped it off quickly before it could take her somewhere else and held it in her hand, inspecting it.

The black had barely grown at all. There was still enough silver for another jump!

"Solace wasn't a hundred miles away!" she glared accusingly at Raistlin, swatting him in the arm.

Raistlin clutched at his stinging arm and glared over at her.

"So I exaggerated," he grumbled in response.

"You idiot! We could've used the ring to get back hours before the brigands showed up!" she exclaimed, once more swatting at him.

"Well, how was I supposed to know how much power was left in the ring?" Raistlin retorted defensively.

Klea groaned and rolled her eyes, laying back down against the ground. Raistlin glanced down at her before sighing and lowering himself down on the grass beside her. Klea brought her arms up and behind her head, hitting Raistlin's head with her elbow in the process.

"Ow! Gods, you have the boniest elbows in Krynn," Raistlin grumbled, rubbing his aching temple. Klea rolled her eyes.

"And you're a wimp, I didn't even hit you that hard," she chuckled.

Raistlin glared over at her, but she was looking up at the sky, so his look was wasted. He turned his head to look up at the sky too. It was darkening, the bright blue fading to a more steely color pinpointed by only the brightest stars that were determined to make themselves seen. He should really be heading back, Caramon would be worrying like a mother hen by this point, probably trying to convince the town guard to go out in full to search for his brother. Raistlin sneered at the thought, but Klea's voice pierced his cynical thoughts.

"Why'd you jump in front of me?" she questioned bluntly, not turning to look at him but keeping her eyes fixed on the darkening sky.

Raistlin was taken aback. Both because she had evidently been thinking about that act, and because he didn't have an answer for her. He honestly didn't know why he had jumped in between her and that brigand. It was stupid, probably the stupidest thing he had ever done. He had thrown himself between two armed people, what in the Abyss had he been thinking? There was no doubt in his mind that Klea probably could've handled herself leagues better than he could; for one she had been prepared with a weapon while he had been left unarmed with no means of defense besides his wit, which had promptly fled him the moment danger appeared. She had gotten them out of there, leading them through the woods, holding off the men with her knife, and then using the ring to escape just in time. So why had he felt the ridiculous urge to protect _her_ after that brigand had simply leered at her?

"I don't know," Raistlin admitted, shrugging. "It was stupid and you can clearly take care of yourself, so I honestly have no idea why I acted so foolishly."

"You didn't even have a knife!" Klea exclaimed, turning to look over at him, smiling slightly amidst her bewilderment. "I mean what kid doesn't have some form of protection in this day and age?"

"Well, that's where magic's supposed to come in," Raistlin grinned ruefully. "Kind of useless until I can use it, really."

"Even mages have knives as a last resort of self-defense!" Klea argued.

"Where were you keeping it by the way?" Raistlin abruptly changed topics, recalling the blade flashing out of nowhere.

"Oh, my wrist. I got this cool little thing that wraps around my arm and keeps the blade hidden. At the flick of my wrist it releases it down into my hand," she explained, pulling up her sleeve to reveal the empty thong strapped around her thin arm.

She twisted her neck around to look for where her knife had fallen. Spotting it by the log, she stretched herself to reach it instead of actually moving to get it which probably would've been easier. She noticed the expression on Raistlin's face that communicated this thought, but promptly ignored it with a purse of her lips. Lifting her arm, she showed Raistlin how she put the knife back into the straps. Then, straightening out her arm, she flicked her wrist and caught the handle as the knife was released and propelled from the straps by a small coil. She didn't miss Raistlin's interest, his eyes lighting up as he studied the design.

"This is a pretty sophisticated version, most don't have this little spring. Just letting gravity do the work when you're standing, but my dad's pretty serious about safety," Klea continued as she fitted the knife back between the straps and pulled her sleeve back over the device. "I'll see if I can get you one, too."

"No," Raistlin snapped, turning his face back up to the sky. His lips tightened into a straight line as his eyes hardened. She had already saved his life while he had been helpless, he didn't need her charity. Klea studied his flat eyes and clenched jaw and pursed her own lips.

"It's not charity, and I don't pity you," she began bitingly.

"I don't need you to—"

"I think you're stupid, not having any means of defense," she cut him off to finish sharply. Raistlin turned to look at her in shock. "If you want to have to rely on others for protection that's fine, but I couldn't bear having to depend on people like that. There'll always be a point where you're on your own and there's no one there to help," she stated, turning away from him.

Now her eyes had hardened and Raistlin wondered what had made her close off so quickly. He knew she didn't appreciate his pride, or what she termed his 'stupid refusal to accept help,' but this was different. She hadn't ever snapped at him about it. Sure they bickered and yelled at each other, but this had a different tone. A truly angry one, and Raistlin didn't know how to respond to it.

"I don't want to have to depend on others, but I don't know how to defend myself," he muttered.

"Knives are easy, just slice and stab," she replied. Her tone wasn't as biting, but still had a hard edge to it. Raistlin was still trying to decipher her mood when she spoke again, but this time quiet and gentle, almost to herself. "I don't want you to be defenseless."

Raistlin didn't know how to respond to that, or even if he should, so he didn't. The two lay there looking up at the sky for a while longer in silence. Klea finally got to her feet, Raistlin following after her, and she broke the silence.

"I should be going. My mistress has probably turned out the town guards for the ring," she stated, lacking her usual cheerful sarcasm.

"My brother's probably done the same for me," Raistlin agreed with a slight rueful smirk. The familiar displeasure this thought brought up for Raistlin was momentarily dispelled by Klea actually grinning a bit, her crooked one. "I'll see you soon?"

"If my mistress doesn't string me up by my thumbs," Klea shrugged, her crooked smile widening a bit. "Don't worry, I'll track you down if I survive," she joked.

Considering she wasn't in the best of moods, Raistlin was a bit surprised, and of course peeved, that she hugged him. Klea wrapped her arms around Raistlin and pressed herself into his chest. Raistlin resignedly put his arms around her too, but instead of releasing him, Klea pressed closer. Raistlin was confused. This hug felt different. She wasn't doing it to tease him or simply as a quick goodbye. It was almost as if she was seeking real comfort. Raistlin furrowed his brow, confused as to why he felt compelled to offer it to her. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and felt her release the tension in her shoulders. She released a deep breath and finally loosened her arms from around him. Raistlin returned his arms to his side as Klea stepped away from him.

"Bye," she said as she pulled out the ring and slipped it on. She disappeared immediately, the activation of the magic setting his robes rustling as if by a slight wind. He looked at where she had been standing, picturing that look that he had never seen on her face. The closest thing he could compare it to was the look she had gotten when she had first spoken about her family in depth, but even that wasn't quite the same, that one was more bitter while this one had something else to it…

Shaking his head, Raistlin turned to leave the clearing. He tried to resign himself to never understanding that girl, but his curiosity wouldn't let him drop it. Instead, he knew he would be pondering her strange shift in mood for the next few weeks, as he did with every fascinating and different thing she did. He began his pondering on his way back to town, figuring an interesting conundrum a more pleasant thought than the smothering worry his brother would undoubtedly greet him with back in town.

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>So how did you like it? I love reviews because I love hearing from you guys, whether you loved it hated it or found misspells honestly anything!

And thank you to those of you following/favoriting!


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